Theleerfishorgarrick(Lichia amia) is a species ofmarinefishin the familyCarangidae.It is the only extant member of the genusLichia.It is native to much of the easternAtlantic Ocean,from theMediterraneanand westernBlack Sea,north to France, and south along the coastal waters of westernAfrica,reaching as far south as easternSouth Africa.[2][3][4]They are an important species in coastal recreational fisheries, especially in Africa.[5][6]
| Leerfish Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Carangiformes |
| Suborder: | Carangoidei |
| Family: | Carangidae |
| Subfamily: | Trachinotinae |
| Genus: | Lichia Cuvier,1816 |
| Species: | L. amia
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| Binomial name | |
| Lichia amia (Linnaeus,1758)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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These fish can reach 1.5 m in length and more than 30 kg[citation needed]in weight. They inhabit the coastal wave zone where they form small shoals to hunt other smaller fish, favouring mullets. In South Africa, they primarily breed in estuaries and move to marine environments after maturation.[5]
Phylogenetic evidence suggests that a deep genetic divergence exists between leerfish populations in South Africa and Angola, likely divided by theBenguela Current.It has thus been recommended that these populations be managed as two independent stocks.[6]
An extinct relative,Lichia veronensisBannikov, 1990,is known from theEarly Eocene-agedMonte Bolcasite of Italy, suggesting that the genus has inhabited its present range for nearly 50 million years. Another extinct species,Lichia altaGorjanovic-Kramberger,1891,is known from theOligoceneof Slovenia. FossilLichiaremains tentatively assigned to the extantL. amiaare known from thelate Miocene(Messinian) of Italy, in the midst of theMessinian Salinity Crisis.This suggests that the extantL. amiamust have diverged from its extinct relatives prior to this point, and that pockets of ocean likely persisted in the Mediterranean during this period of time.[7][8]
References
edit- ^de Morais, L.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; Sagna, A.; Djiman, R.; Camara, K.; Carpenter, K.E.; Nunoo, F.; Sidibé, A.; Sylla, M.; Williams, A.B.; Montiero, V. (2015)."Lichia amia".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2015:e.T198642A43159295.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198642A43159295.en.Retrieved20 November2021.
- ^abFroese, Rainer;Pauly, Daniel (eds.)."Lichia amia".FishBase.August 2019 version.
- ^Van Der Elst, R. (1993).A Guide to the Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa.Struik Publishers.ISBN1-86825-394-5.
- ^Black Sea Fishes Check ListArchived2011-01-25 at theWayback Machine
- ^abMurray, Taryn S.; Cowley, Paul D.; Bennett, Rhett H.; Childs, Amber-Robyn (2018)."Fish on the move: connectivity of an estuary-dependent fishery species evaluated using a large-scale acoustic telemetry array".Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.75(11):2038–2052.doi:10.1139/cjfas-2017-0361.ISSN0706-652X.
- ^abHenriques, R; Potts, WM; Sauer, WHH; Shaw, PW (2012-12-01)."Evidence of deep genetic divergence between populations of an important recreational fishery species,Lichia amiaL. 1758, around southern Africa ".African Journal of Marine Science.34(4).doi:10.2989/1814232x.2012.749809.ISSN1814-232X.
- ^Carnevale, G.; Bannikov, Alexandre F.; Marramà, G.; Tyler, James C.; Zorzin., R. (2014)."The Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätte: A window into the Eocene World. 5. The Pesciara- Monte Postale Fossil-Lagerstätte: 2. Fishes and other vertebrates. Excursion guide"(PDF).Rendiconti della Società Paleontologica Italiana.4(1):i–xxvii.hdl:10088/25678.
- ^Carnevale, Giorgio; Caputo, G.; Landini, D. (2008)."A leerfish (Teleostei, Carangidae) from the Messinian evaporites of the Vena del Gesso basin (Romagna Apennines, Italy): Paleogeographical and paleoecological implications".Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana.47(2).
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